Wearable computing gets kick-start in Korea

South Korea is preparing to unleash a wave of MP3 player-enabled clothes.

by
Macworld staff
, | 18 Aug 06

South Korea is preparing to unleash a wave of MP3 player-enabled clothes.

The government there is supporting efforts to launch a range of digital clothes by the end of the year. It wants the country to take a stand as the world's leading exporter of smart clothes. The government extimates the global market could be worth $7 million by 2014, and is aiming to grab 20 per cent of that.

"The research and development of smart clothing can't be left up to the market only, because of its high risk. The government has taken the role of offsetting this risk," Hwang Kyu-yearn, an official at the Commerce and Industry Ministry told the Washington Post.